It was a surprise that illuminated screens in the windows of Quest Cottages received planning approval, despite numerous objections. This caused significant comments to articles in Rye News.
So Rye residents might ask what will be the next planning controversy in Rye? Is the top of Conduit Hill at the top of the list?
The Grapevine has applied to install metal seats and tables on brackets bolted the wall of a grade II listed building. The application has drawn numerous objections. The pathway is narrow and well used. It is a historic location within the conservation area and it is an iconic location for photographs up and down Conduit Hill. That is without consideration being given to noise pollution and obstruction of the footpath by smokers and others standing or queueing outside the wine bar.
Will the planners take note of the numerous objections this time? (Bizarrely one of the online comments says “support” but read on, it supports refusal of planning permission! So it is also an objection).
The planning application (RR/2023/1334/P) and listed building application, with objections, can be read on the Rother planning website.
Under normal circumstances one might expect planning to be refused but, after the approval of illuminated signs at Skinner’s roundabout, can Rye be confident that its assets and character will be protected here?
Watch this space!
Image Credits: David Austen .
How do you find the planning application..the reference number is not enough information to find it.
I did eventually manage to find the application using the full reference but I agree it ain’t easy. And the closing date for comments is given as August 11th so that’s a fat lot of use anyway…
Looking today this has been refused. As yet the decision notice isn’t on the website but ought to be available soon. It should make interesting reading. Hopefully they won’t appeal.
It’s been refused by Rother planners.
It’s been refused, thankfully
The Rye Conservation Society which I am honoured to chair strongly opposed this application and are pleased that it has been rejected by the Rother planning Department.
Of course David,but why was plastic allowed to front the town library,which is also in the heart of the conservation area.
It’s astonishing that this planning application was ever made, if the planner’s report and decision document are anything to go by. The idea of attaching tables (seating 18 people in total) to the side of a listed building on a steep hill by means of metal brackets was lambasted from a safety point of view. I really don’t know what the architect was thinking. The existing footpath would also be blocked and the ancient’s street’s character adversely affected.
“Concerns are raised about the effectiveness and structural integrity of the brackets,” said the case officer’s report.
The property itself is not only listed but other listed buildings are close by, with the property also inside Rye Conservation Area. The decision notice said the proposal would “adversely affect the setting and special architectural and historic character and interest of the listed building as a designated heritage asset” and would be against policies EN2 and RY1 of RDC’s Core Strategy and EN3 and D1 of the Rye Neighbourhood Plan as well as paragraphs 130, 194, 200 and 202 of the NPPF.
The Grapevine owner would be ill-advised to appeal this decision, as it’s one of the most cast iron I’ve ever seen.
The problem with RDC’s planning division is inconsistency. It refuses this application on the grounds that Rye’s historic character would be adversely affected, and yet it approves the controversial electronic screens on the A259/A268 roundabout, which also falls within Rye Conservation Area. One has to ask why RY1, EN3 and D1 were given no weight in that decision? Failing to preserve and enhance the appearance of a conservation area was quoted as a reason for the Grapevine decision, but not for the electronic screens.
We all want Rye to be prosperous and its businesses to thrive, but local business owners need to understand that any planning scheme they come up with must NOT adversely affect the town’s historic character and identity. There have been a number of cases of commercial (and private) interests playing fast and loose with the planning laws and RDC letting them get away with it. I’ve lost count of the number of planning conditions being ignored in Rye.
I hope the Grapevine decision indicates that Rother District Council will in future take a firmer and more consistent approach to planning applications in Rye that threaten the town’s historic character. If this does not happen, Rye faces a bleak future.